Dane, Dana & Company was a Boston, Massachusetts based import and export merchant
operated by Samuel Turner Dana, Mortimer C. Ferris and J.T. Hayward. The company engaged
in the China trade exporting cotton goods, lead, wood and coal and importing tea,
silks and chinaware from Hong Kong and Shanghai. The firm also imported pepper from
Penang, rattan from Singapore and indigo and coffee from Manila. Dane, Dana & Co.
owned some of their ships and were part owners of others.

Also included in this collection are materials related to the Boston Sugar Refinery,
the first refinery in the United States to manufacture granulated sugar. The Boston
Sugar Refinery was founded on Lewis Street in East Boston in 1834. The factory was
expanded and machinery was upgraded in the 1850s. Thomas Lamb served as treasurer
and agent for a period of time in the 1850s.

The Dane, Dana & Co. records consist of correspondence and financial material including
invoices, insurance policies, ships expenses, bills and accounts of cargoes bought
and sold. Dane, Dana & company was a Boston, Mass. based merchant trading firm that
imported tea, spices and other goods for resale.

The Boston Sugar Refinery material consists of correspondence and financial records
including accounts, bills and receipts kept between 1835 and 1880. The bulk of the
correspondence is addressed to Thomas Lamb who served as treasurer for the company.

Also included in the collection is a small amount of material that does not directly
relate to the Boston Sugar Refinery or Dane, Dana & Company. This material is located
in box 4 and includes records of the Provident Institute for Savings, Temple Place
Savings Bank, Proprietors of Temple Place, Barrett & Hooper and the papers of James
Clifford.

Scope and Content: The records of Dane, Dana & Co. include correspondence, insurance records, receipts,
accounts, and bills of lading. The bulk of the correspondence is sent to Dane, Dana
& Co. from merchant firms in China discussing the shipment of goods, financial transactions
and credit, and the overall business climate. Business correspondents include King
& Co., Baring Brothers, Augustine Heard & Co. and Cary & Co. There are a small number
of personal letters sent to Samuel Turner Dana in Boston by his brother Richard Perkins
Dana a merchant working in Canton and Shanghai that discuss his travels, business,
and the 1853 rebellion. The accounts illustrate the type, amount, and price of goods
Dane, Dana & Co. were shipping to Boston for resale.

Box 1 , Folder 4 , Letters, 1835-1854

Box 2 , Folder 1 , Insurance policies and receipts, 1852-1854

Accounts, 1798-1852

Box 3 , Folder 2 , Accounts, 1853

Box 4 , Folder 1 , Accounts, 1845-1855

Series II. Boston Sugar Refinery, 1835-1880

Scope and Content: The Boston Sugar Refinery records include correspondence, accounts, bills and receipts.
The bulk of the correspondence includes letters sent to treasurer Thomas Lamb from
companies and individuals. The correspondence relates to the purchase and shipment
of coal to operate the refinery, the arrival of sugar, price and order information
and the current business climate. Correspondents include Flint, Peabody & Co., Trevorton
Coal and Railroad Co. and the Pennsylvania Coal Company.

Box 1 , Folder 3 , Letters, 1835-1854

Box 1 , Folder 4-6 , Letters, 1856-1858

Box 2 , Folder 1-2 , Letters, 1857-1860

Box 2 , Folder 3 , Bills and receipts, 1851-1854

Box 5 , Folder 1 , Bills of lading, 1852-1859

Box 5 , Folder 2 , Accounts, 1850-1851

Box 6 , Folder 1 , Accounts, 1852

Box 6 , Folder 2 , Accounts, 1853

Box 7 , Folder 1 , Accounts, 1853

Box 7 , Folder 2 , Accounts, 1854

Box 8 , Folder 1 , Accounts, 1854

Box 8 , Folder 2 , Accounts, 1855

Box 9 , Folder 1-2 , Accounts, 1856

Box 10 , Folder 1-2 , Accounts, 1857

Box 11 , Folder 1-2 , Accounts, 1858

Box 12 , Folder 1 , Accounts, 1858

Box 12 , Folder 2 , Accounts, 1859

Box 13 , Receipts, 1851-1858

Box 14 , Receipts, 1842-1880

Box 15 , Receipts, 1845-1892

Series III. Other company papers, 1796-1879

Scope and Content: The material located in this series does not directly relate to Dane, Dana & Co. The
companies include the Provident Institution for Savings, Temple Place Saving Bank,
Proprietors of Temple Place, Barrett & Hooper a fruit importer and James Clifford.
The material mostly consists of receipts of items purchased from dry goods merchants.

The following catalog entries represent persons, organizations, and topics documented
in this collection. An entry for each appears in the Harvard On Line Library Information
System (HOLLIS) and other automated bibliographic databases. THIS IS NOT AN INDEX.